Chinese Sugar Egg Puffs (Sai Yong): Easiest Donuts Ever

It’s been a non-stop parade of celebrations these couple of weeks. First Valentine’s Day, then Isabelle turned 25 months (I know, once babies turn 2 you don’t really do the month thing anymore, but it’s still a milestone), we celebrated 4 years since we adopted Snickers (I need to do a post on that too!), plus it’s Chinese New Year on the 19th! Oh, and I guess there was Presidents’ Day on Monday, which really served as just a day to get caught up on all these other events!

Every Chinese New Year I’ve tried to make some traditional Chinese dessert, or at least something new year-themed. With one celebration after another this year, I didn’t have time to plan an elaborate dessert, and at the last minute decided to do the Chinese version of donut puffs.

It turned out to be the perfect choice since these are probably the easiest and quickest donut-type pastries I’ve ever made. Talking about Chinese donuts can be a little confusing since there are lots of deep-fried pastry items in Chinese cuisine, and translations vary everywhere. The type of donut I’m referring to here is called sai yong in Chinese, is basically made from a type of pâte à choux dough, is very sweet, and is meant to be eaten as dessert (because in Chinese cuisine you can enjoy fried donut-y items at any point of the meal – seriously, whenever I go to Hong Kong I can’t believe I don’t gain ten pounds every time).

The most common name I’ve found for this pastry in English is sugar egg puffs or just egg puffs. Again, also very confusing because there is yet another, entirely different Chinese pastry that is sometimes called egg puffs. You can see there’s a lot of lost in translation going on with my foray into Chinese baking!

I do like the name egg puff though, because it fairly accurately describes the dish – imagine a deep fried cream puff shell, crisp and sweet on the outside, moist and eggy inside. It’s the contrast between the delicate, ethereally crisp exterior and the rich interior that makes this puff so addictive. It’s almost like the idealized version of what I want cream puffs to be. What doesn’t a little deep-frying solve?

The batter is, as I discovered through a little research, essentially pâte à choux dough. It’s likely that Chinese chefs adapted the French classic into a dim sum staple. I should also not be surprised that I love these puffs so much, since they are pretty much the same as French crullers, which I already waxed rapturous about when I taught my donut class.

Here’s a shot of the batter: thick and silky smooth. It’s easiest to scoop it with an oiled measuring cup and use a spoon to push the batter into the hot oil. The egg puffs in Chinese restaurants can reach outrageously large proportions, but it’s easier to cook smaller-size dollops of batter. Watch for the puffs to expand dramatically about halfway through frying.

It also turns out that the French also have their own version of fried pâte à choux dough, called pets de nonnes, or nuns’ farts (I have to say this was some of the most entertaining food research I’d done in a while). Another famous fried pâte à choux pastry is, of course, beignets, which are very similar but often made with yeast. One of the reasons I’m so enamored of these sugar egg puffs is that there is no yeast, so you don’t need to wait for the dough to rise before frying. These really are the quickest and easiest (and delicious) donuts ever!

By the way, I also did not realize until now that February 17th was Fat Tuesday! It’s like an endless stream of reasons to make merry and eat well! So if you don’t time to make beignets for Mardi Gras, consider sugar egg puffs/pets de nonnes as a quick and simple version.

This is true for pretty much all donuts, but these egg puffs are at their best when super fresh: basically just cooled enough so you can roll them in sugar and bite into them without burning your mouth. They do not keep well – there’s not much point in trying to save in reheat them, so gather a few friends and have your own Chinese New Year/Mardi Gras celebration with some sugar egg puffs. You will be so happy to have someone else to share the sugar coma with afterwards.

Happy Year of the Ram! I hope this new year brings good fortune, happiness, and all things delicious to you!

Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to low and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough should come together into a ball. Continue stirring for another couple of minutes until it is completely smooth and soft.

Transfer the dough into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat to cool it down slightly. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. The dough should be very thick and shiny but not liquidy.

Heat at least 2 inches of oil in a heavy bottomed pot to 350 F. Carefully drop in 1/4-cup scoops of batter in the oil. Do a couple of puffs at a time - don't overcrowd the pot. Watch the temperature of the oil and make sure it doesn't drop too much.

Fry until cooked through and crispy, about 8-10 minutes, flipping them over frequently. The puffs should double in size and become golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel-covered wire rack to drain and cool slightly.

Place additional sugar in a bowl. Place puff in sugar and toss lightly to coat. Serve immediately.

Interesting! I recognize your recipe as being ‘choux pastry’ which has then been shaped into balls and fried. For my donut recipe, I made the choux pastry then poured it into individual ramekins and then baked them. Yum!

These look incredible! I’m celebrating tomorrow and would love to make these, except German all-purpose flour and American aren’t at all the same and I know they’d fail. Bummer! I’ll bookmark this for when I’m back in the US. 🙂

OMG I love these things! I always go a little overboard on them when we go to the Chinese buffet. Being able to make them at home might be dangerous, especially since I’m sure they’re a million times better than the ones I already love.

This is the BEST recipe! My husband followed your recipe and made the most amazing Sai yong! Can’t stop using exclamation marks cause I’m blown away how good they are. It taste the same as the famous pastry shop in Hong Kong.

The first 3 batches made super light sai yong but the last 2 was denser in the middle. The sai yong doubles and bursted everytime. Do we continue to cook a bit after it burst? Did the oil affect the last 2 denser batch?

Thanks so much for writing in and I’m so glad the recipe worked so well for you! They are super addictive!

I’m not sure about why they were bursting in the last few batches – I don’t think that ever happened to me. I guess my first question would be if you were using a thermometer and checking the temperature of the oil as you went along. Maybe the oil was getting hotter or colder than you realized which might have affected how they cooked. Also if you put in too many pieces of dough at once and overcrowd them, they might take longer to cook and absorb more oil, which makes them denser? Just a couple of ideas. If you make them again, you’ll probably figure out how to refine the process. Good luck!

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about pastrygirl

Anita Chu, also known as pastrygirl, is a baker, writer, and photographer with a passion for pastry. She trained at Tante Marie's Cooking School and is the author of Field Guide to Cookies, Field Guide to Candy, and Lollipop Love. Anita lives in San Francisco with her husband, baby girl, and rescue cockapoo Snickerdoodle. More about pastrygirl